The present invention relates generally to hay harvesting machinery utilizing a conditioning mechanism and, more particularly, to a mounting structure to permit transverse reciprocating movement of a rotatably supported conditioning roll.
Hay harvesting machine commonly referred to as mower-conditioners or windrowers, utilize a crop harvesting header to sever the hay crop from the ground and convey it rearwardly to a conditioning mechanism operable to crush or crimp the severed crop material at spaced apart intervals along the stem of the crop to facilitate the drainage of liquids from the crop material plant. Conditioning mechanisms of the type utilizing a pair of counterrotating, intermeshing conditioning rolls are provided with transversely extending flutes to effect conditioning of the severed crop material in a manner described in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,929 issued to J. K. Hale.
Although the individual crop material plant, which generally has a waxy stem, has been broken in several places by the operation of the intermeshing flutes on the conditioning rolls, the liquids within the plant still require significant time to escape from the plant to permit satisfactory conditions in which the dried crop material can be baled and then removed from the field. A more rapid drying of liquids from the conditioned crop material could be obtained if the waxy stem of the crop material plant were split along the length thereof, providing a ready means for the liquid to escape from the plant.
One of the problems incurred with developing a reciprocating and rotating hay conditioning roll is to provide a mounting apparatus capable of accommodating both the rotational and transversely reciprocating linear movement of the conditioning roll. Further complications in the mounting structure would be to provide a cost effective bearing surface for both rotative add linear movements.